The 31-year old Japanese midfielder has been acquired by the Revs in a trade which sees the Whitecaps land a fourth-round pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.

Kobayashi played 30 MLS matches for Vancouver last season after joining from J.League club Shimizu S-Pulse and brings a wealth of experience to the Gillette Stadium according to New England general manager Michael Burns.

“Daigo is a technically gifted player who fits into our system well,” Burns said in an official statement.

“He assimilated well with our club when he was in Tucson (for preseason camp) with us, and we are looking forward to his return to the club soon.”

On the departure of the former Tokyo Verdy, Omiya Ardija, Stabaek and Iraklis man, ‘Caps boss Carl Robinson said: “Daigo is a good person and player but we just didn’t see a spot for him on the team moving forward.